Battle of Assaye | Military Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia Bharatpur The Battle of Assaye was a major battle of the Second Anglo-Maratha War fought between the Maratha Confederacy and the British East India Company. It occurred on 23 September 1803 near Assaye in western India where an outnumbered Indian and British force under the command of Major General Arthur Wellesley (who later became the Duke of Wellington) defeated a combined Confederacy army of Daulat Scindia and the Raja of Berar . The battle was the Duke of Wellington's first major victory and one he later described as his finest accomplishment on the battlefield. From August 1803, Wellesley's army and a separate force under the command of his subordinate Colonel James Stevenson had been pursuing the Maratha cavalry -based army which threatened to raid south into Hyderabad. After several weeks of pursuit and countermarching, Scindia reinforced the combined Maratha army with his Europeanised infantry and artillery as the British forces closed in on his position. Wellesley received intelligence indicating the location of the Maratha encampment on 21 September and devised a plan whereby his two armies would converge on the Maratha position three days later.

Wellesley's force, however, encountered the Maratha army – which was under the command of Colonel Anthony Pohlmann , a German formerly in British service – Script error farther south than he anticipated. Although outnumbered, Wellesley resolved to attack at once, believing that the Maratha army would soon move off. Both sides suffered heavily in the ensuing battle; Maratha artillery caused large numbers of casualties among Wellesley's troops but the vast numbers of Maratha cavalry proved largely ineffective. A combination of bayonet and cavalry charges eventually forced the Maratha army to retreat with the loss of most of their guns, but Wellesley's army was too battered and exhausted to pursue. Wellesley's victory at Assaye, preceded by the capture of Ahmednagar and followed by victories at Argaon and Gawilghur , resulted in the defeat of Scindia and Berar's armies in the Deccan. Wellesley's progress in the Deccan was matched by Lieutenant General Gerard Lake 's successful campaigns in Northern India and led to the British becoming the dominant power in the heartlands of India.

Contents Main article: Second Anglo-Maratha War Lord Mornington , the Governor-General of British India between 1798 and 1805, oversaw a rapid expansion of British territory in India. Feuding between the two dominant powers within the Maratha Confederacy , Yashwant Rao Holkar and Daulat Rao Scindia , led to civil war at the turn of the 19th century. [1] The hostilities culminated in the Battle of Poona in October 1802 where Holkar defeated a combined army of Scindia and Baji Rao II – the Peshwa and nominal overlord of the Confederacy. Scindia retreated into his dominions to the north, but Baji Rao was driven from his territory and sought refuge with the East India Company at Bassein . He appealed to the Company for assistance, offering to accept its authority if he were restored to his principality at Poona. [2] Lord Mornington , the ambitious Governor-General of British India, seized on the opportunity to extend Company influence into the Confederacy which he perceived as the final obstacle to British paramountcy over the Indian subcontinent.

[3] The Treaty of Bassein was signed in December 1802 whereby the Company agreed to restore Baji Rao in return for control over his foreign affairs and a garrison of 6,000 Company troops permanently stationed in Poona. [4] The restoration was commanded by Lord Mornington’s younger brother, Major General Arthur Wellesley , who in March 1803 marched on Poona from Mysore with 15,000 Company troops and 9,000 Hyderabad allies. [4] Wellesley entered Poona without opposition on 20 April, and Baji Rao was formally restored to his throne on 13 May. [5] [6] The treaty gave offence to the other Maratha leaders, who deemed that the system of subsidiary alliances with the British was an unwarranted interference into their affairs and fatal to the independent Maratha states. The Maratha leaders refused to submit to the Peshwa's authority and tensions were raised further when Holkar raided into Hyderabad in May, claiming that the Nizam of Hyderabad (a British ally) owed him money. [7] Mornington consequently engaged the various Maratha chieftains in negotiations.

Lieutenant Colonel John Collins was sent to Scindia's camp to discuss his objections and propose a defensive alliance. [8] However, Scindia had formed a military alliance with the Rajah of Berar with a view to bringing the Maratha leaders into a coalition against the British, and had begun to mass his forces on the Nizam's border. [9] Wellesley, who had been given control over the Company's military and political affairs in central India in June, demanded Scindia declare his intentions and withdraw his forces or face the prospect of war. [10] After a protracted period of negotiations, Collins reported to Wellesley on 3 August that Scindia refused to give an answer and would not withdraw his troops. [11] Wellesley's response was to declare war on Scindia and Berar "in order to secure the interests of the British government and its allies". [12] Prelude Edit The East India Company attacked the two principal Maratha forces of Scindia and the Raja of Berar from the north and the south.

Of the other Maratha leaders, Holkar was hesitant to enter the war in cooperation with his rival, Scindia, and remained aloof from the hostilities, and the Gaekwad of Baroda placed himself under British protection. [2] Operations in the north were directed by Lieutenant General Gerard Lake who entered Maratha territory from Cawnpore to face Scindia's main army which was commanded by the French mercenary, Pierre Perron . A second British force under the command of Major General Wellesley confronted a combined army of Scindia and Berar in the Deccan. Wellesley was determined to gain the initiative through offensive action and told his senior subordinate, Colonel James Stevenson , that "a long defensive war would ruin us and will answer no purpose whatever". [13] The Maratha army in the Deccan was largely composed of fast-moving cavalry able to live off the land. Consequently, Wellesley planned to work in conjunction with a separate force under Colonel Stevenson to enable his slower troops to outmanoeuvre the Maratha army and force it into a position where it could not avoid a pitched battle .

[14] Stevenson was despatched from Hyderabad with an army of some 10,000 men to Jafarabad to deny Scindia and Berar the chance to raid east into the Nizam's territory. In the meantime, Wellesley moved north from his camp near the Godavari River on 8 August with some 13,500 troops and headed towards Scindia's nearest stronghold – the walled town and fort at Ahmednuggur . [13] The bulk of his forces were Company troops from Mysore: five sepoy infantry battalions of the Madras Native Infantry and three squadrons of Madras Native Cavalry. A contingent of European troops were supplied by the British Army and included cavalry from the 19th Light Dragoons and two battalions of Scottish infantry from the 74th and 78th Regiment of Foot . Irregular light cavalry were also provided by the Company's Mysore and Maratha allies. [15] Wellesley reached Ahmednuggur later the same day after a Script error march and immediately ordered an escalade assault on the town rather than enter into a time-consuming siege.

The walled town, which was garrisoned by 1,000 Arab mercenaries, upwards of 60 cannon and one of Scindia’s infantry battalions under the command of French officers, was captured with minimal losses after a brief action. [1] [2] The adjacent fort's defenders capitulated four days later once the walls were breached by British artillery. [3] With the fortification providing a logistics base and point of support for future operations into Maratha territory, Wellesley installed a garrison and headed north towards the Nizam's city of Aurungabad . Along the way he captured Scindia’s other possessions south of the Godavari and established a series of guarded bridges and ferries along the river to maintain his communication and supply lines . [4] [5] Maratha reinforcements Edit Map of the Assaye campaign The Marathas slipped past Stevenson and advanced on Hyderabad. After receiving reports of their movement on 30 August, Wellesley hurried east down to the Godavari to intercept. [6] Stevenson, meanwhile, marched westwards to the Maratha city of Jalna which he took by storm.

[7] Scindia learned of Wellesley's intentions and returned to a position north of Jalna. Unable to make a clean break from the pursuing British he abandoned plans to raid into Hyderabad and instead assembled his infantry and artillery. [6] The combined Maratha army was around 50,000 strong, the core of which was 10,800 well equipped regular infantry organised into three brigades , trained and commanded by European adventurer and mercenary officers. [8] Colonel Anthony Pohlmann , a Hanoverian and former East India Company sergeant, commanded the largest brigade with eight battalions. [8] A further brigade with five battalions was provided by Begum Samru , and was commanded on her behalf by a Frenchman, Colonel Jean Saleur. The third brigade had four battalions and was commanded by Dutchman, Major John James Dupont.

[9] In addition, the Maratha force included 10,000–20,000 of Berar's irregular infantry, [8] some 30,000–40,000 irregular light cavalry and over 100 guns ranging in size from one to 18-pounders. [10] [11] After several weeks of chasing down the Maratha army, Wellesley and Stevenson met at Budnapoor on 21 September and received intelligence that the Maratha army was at Borkardan , around Script error to the north. They agreed a plan by which their two armies – moving separately along either side of a range of hills with Wellesley to the east and Stevenson to the west – would converge on Borkardan on 24 September. Wellesley's force reached Paugy on the afternoon of 22 September and departed camp before dawn. By noon, the army had marched Script error to Naulniah, a small town Script error south of Borkardan, where they intended to rest before joining Stevenson to attack the Maratha army the next day.

[1] At this point, Wellesley received further intelligence that rather than being at Borkardan, the Maratha army was camped just Script error north, but their cavalry had moved off and the infantry were about to follow. [1] At about 13:00, Wellesley went forward with a cavalry escort to reconnoitre the Maratha position. The rest of his army followed closely behind apart from a battalion of sepoys left at Naulniah to guard the baggage. [2] In all, Wellesley had 4,500 troops at his disposal plus 5,000 Mysore and Maratha horse and 17 cannon. [3] Aware that the British were nearby, The Maratha chiefs had positioned their army in a strong defensive position along a tongue of land stretching east from Borkardan between the Kailna River and its tributary the Juah. However, Scindia and Berar did not believe Wellesley would attack with his small force and had moved off from the area in the morning.

[2] Command of their army was given to Pohlmann, who had positioned his infantry to the east of the Maratha camp in the plains around the village of Assaye on the southern bank of the Juah. [4] To his surprise, Wellesley found the entire combined army before him. Nevertheless, he resolved to attack at once, believing that if he waited for Stevenson, the Marathas would have the chance to slip away and force the pursuit to drag on. [2] Wellesley was also eager to forge a reputation for himself, and despite his numerical disadvantage, he was confident that the Maratha’s irregular forces would be swept aside by his disciplined troops, and only Scindia’s regular infantry could be expected to stand and fight. [5] Battle Edit Pohlmann struck camp and deployed his infantry battalions in a line facing southwards behind the steep banks of the Kailna with his cannon arrayed directly in front. The great mass of Maratha cavalry was kept on the right flank and Berar's irregular infantry garrisoned Assaye to the rear. The only observable crossing point over the river was a small ford directly ahead of the Maratha position.

Pohlmann's strategy was to funnel the British and Madras troops across the ford into the mouth of his cannon, and then on to the massed infantry and cavalry behind. Wellesley's local guides assured him that no other ford existed nearby, but he quickly discarded the option of a frontal assault as suicide. [6] While reconnoitring he had noticed two unguarded villages, Peepulgaon and Waroor, one on each bank of the Kaitna beyond the Maratha left. On the assumption that a ford must exist between the two villages, Wellesley ordered the area to be further reconnoitred by his Chief Engineer, Captain John Johnson, who reported that there was indeed a ford at that spot. Thus Wellesley led his army east to the crossing in an attempt to launch an attack on Pohlmann's left flank. [7] [8] At around 15:00, the British crossed to the northern bank of the Kaitna unopposed apart from a distant harassing fire from the Maratha cannon which was largely inaccurate but succeeded in decapitating Wellesley's dragoon orderly .

[9] Once across, Wellesley ordered his six infantry battalions to form into two lines, with his cavalry as a reserve in a third. His allied Maratha and Mysore cavalry were ordered to remain south of the Kaitna to keep in check a large body of Maratha cavalry which hovered around the British rear. Pohlmann soon recognised Wellesley’s intentions and swung his infantry and guns through 90 degrees to establish a new line spread approximately Script error across the isthmus with their right flank on the Kaitna and the left on Assaye. [1] Although the new position secured the Maratha flanks, it restricted Pohlmann from bringing his superior numbers into action. [2] The Maratha redeployment was swifter and more efficient than Wellesley had anticipated and he immediately reacted by extending his front to deny Pohlmann the opportunity to outflank him. [3] A battalion of pickets and the 74th Highlanders , which formed the right of the first and second lines, were ordered to move obliquely to the right.

[4] This allowed the 78th to anchor the left flank and Madras infantry battalions (the 1/10th, 1/8th, 1/4th and 2/12th) to form the centre of the British line. [3] Wellesley's intention was to force back the Marathas from their guns and then – operating by his left to avoid the heavily defended Assaye – throw them back on the Juah and complete their destruction with his cavalry. [5] British infantry attack Edit Map of the battle. The British and Indian infantry move forward to attack the redeployed Maratha line. The Maratha cannonade intensified as the British redeployed. Although British artillery was brought forward to counter, it was ineffective against the mass firepower of the Maratha guns and quickly disabled through the weight of shot directed against it. British casualties mounted as the Maratha guns turned their attention to the infantry and subjected them to a barrage of canister , grape and round shot . [6] Wellesley decided that his only option to neutralise the artillery and get his men out of the killing field was to advance directly into the mouth of the Maratha artillery.

[7] He ordered his cannon to be abandoned and gave the command for his infantry to march forward with bayonets fixed. [7] The Maratha cannonade punched holes in the British line, but the infantry maintained a steady pace, closing up the gaps in their ranks as they advanced. The 78th Highlanders were the first to reach the enemy in the southern sector next to the River Kailna. They paused Script error from the Maratha gunners and unleashed a volley of musket fire before launching into a bayonet charge. [1] The four battalions of Madras infantry to the right of the 78th, accompanied by the Madras Pioneers , [2] reached Pohlmann's line shortly afterwards and attacked in the same fashion. The gunners stood by their cannon but were no match for the bayonets of the British and Madras troops who swiftly pressed on towards the Maratha infantry. [3] However, instead of meeting the charge, the Maratha right broke and fled northwards towards the Juah, causing the rest of the southern half of the line to follow.

[4] The officers of the Madras battalions temporarily lost control as the sepoys , encouraged by their success, pushed too far pursuit. Maratha cavalry momentarily threatened to charge but were checked by the 78th who remained in order and re-formed to face the danger. [4] In the northern sector of the battlefield however, Wellesley's right flank was in turmoil. The commander of the pickets, Lieutenant Colonel William Orrock, had mistaken his orders and continued his oblique path directly towards Assaye. [3] Major Samuel Swinton of the 74th regiment was ordered to support the pickets and followed close behind. This created a large gap in the centre of the British line, and brought the two battalions under a barrage of cannonade from the artillery around the village and the Maratha left. [5] The two battalions began to fall back in disarray and Pohlmann ordered his remaining infantry and cavalry forward to attack. The Marathas gave no quarter; [6] the pickets were virtually annihilated but the remnants of the 74th were able to form a rough square behind hastily piled bodies of dead.

[7] Realising that the destruction of his right would leave his army exposed and outflanked, Wellesley ordered a detachment of British cavalry under Colonel Patrick Maxwell consisting of the 19th Light Dragoons and elements of the 4th and 5th Madras Native Cavalry into action. [5] From their position at the rear, the cavalry dashed directly towards the 74th's square, crashed into the swarming attackers and routed them. Maxwell pressed his advantage and continued his charge into the Maratha infantry and guns on the left, driving them backwards and across the Juah "with great slaughter". [8] [9] Culmination Edit A number of Maratha gunners who had feigned death when the British advanced over their position re-manned their guns and began to pour cannon fire into the rear of the 74th and Madras infantry. [3] Wellesley ordered his four sepoy battalions to re-form and ward off any threat from the Maratha infantry and cavalry while the 78th were sent back to retake the Maratha gun line.

[10] Wellesley, meanwhile, galloped back to 7th Madras Native Cavalry, which had been held back in reserve to the east, and led a cavalry charge from the opposite direction. [11] The gunners again stood their ground but were eventually driven from their guns and this time it was ensured that all those who remained were dead. [12] While Wellesley was preoccupied with re-taking the gun line, Pohlmann rallied his infantry and redeployed them into a semicircle with their backs to the Juah; their right flank across the river and their left in Assaye. [13] However, most of the Maratha cannon, which had inflicted heavy losses on Wellesley's infantry, had been captured or lay abandoned on the battlefield. Reluctant to join the fray, the Maratha cavalry lingered in the distance to the west. Most were Pindarries : loosely organised and lightly armed horsemen whose traditional role was to cut down fleeing enemy troops, harass convoy lines and carry out raids into enemy territory. They were not trained to attack well-formed infantry or heavily armed European cavalry, and did not play a further part in the battle.

[14] With the remanned Maratha artillery silenced, Wellesley turned his attention to Pohlmann's reformed infantry. Although Maxwell had suffered heavy losses, he had rallied his cavalry and returned to the field of battle. Wellesley ordered him to charge the Maratha left flank, while the infantry moved forward as a single line to meet the centre and right. [11] The cavalry spurred forward but were met with a volley of canister shot which struck Maxwell, killing him instantly. Their momentum lost, the cavalry did not complete their charge but veered away from the Maratha line at the last moment. [11] The British and Madras infantry marched on against the Maratha position but Pohlmann's men, their morale low, did not wait for the attack and instead retreated northwards across the Juah. Descriptions differ as to the manner of their departure: Maratha sources claim the line marched away from the battlefield in an orderly manner on Pohlmann's orders but British accounts claim the Maratha infantry fled in an uncontrolled panic.

[15] Berar's irregulars inside Assaye, now leaderless and having witnessed the fate of the regular infantry, abandoned the village and marched off northwards at around 18:00, followed shortly afterwards by the Maratha cavalry. [15] Wellesley's troops, however, were exhausted and in no condition to pursue and the native allied cavalry which had remained on the south bank of the Kailna and had not been engaged, refused to pursue without the support of the British and Madras cavalry. [16] [17] Aftermath [18] East India Company and British Army casualties amounted to 428 killed, 1138 wounded and 18 missing; a total of 1,584 – over a third of the force engaged in combat. [19] The 74th and the picket battalion were decimated; from a strength of about 500, the 74th lost ten officers killed and seven wounded, and 124 other ranks killed and 270 wounded.

[20] The pickets lost all their officers except their commander, Lieutenant Colonel William Orrock, and had only about 75 men remaining. [7] Of the ten officers forming the general's staff, eight were wounded or had their horses killed. [21] Wellesley himself lost two horses; the first was shot from underneath him and the second was speared as he led the charge to re-capture the Maratha gun line. [22] The number of Maratha casualties is more difficult to ascertain. Despatches from British officers give a figure of 1,200 dead and many more wounded but some modern historians have estimated a total of 6,000 dead and wounded. [23] [24] [25] The Marathas also surrendered seven stands of colours , large amounts of stores and ammunition and 98 cannon – most of which were later taken into service by the East India Company. [16] [17] Although Scindia and Berar's army was not finished as a fighting force, several of Scindia's regular infantry battalions and artillery crews had been destroyed.

Their command structure had also been damaged: many of their European officers, including Colonel Pohlmann and Major Dupont, surrendered to the Company – which had offered amnesty to Europeans in the service of the Maratha armies – or deserted and sought employment with other native chieftains. [22] The sound of the guns at Assaye was heard by Stevenson who immediately broke up his camp Script error miles to the west in an attempt to join the battle. However, he was misled by his guide and marched first on Borkardan before he reached the battlefield on the evening of 24 September. Suspecting that his guide had intentionally led him astray, Stevenson later had him hanged. [1] He remained with Wellesley to assist with the wounded – troops were still being carried from the battlefield four days after the engagement – until ordered to recommence the pursuit of the Maratha army on 26 September. [2] Wellesley remained to the south while he established a hospital at Ajanta and awaited reinforcements from Poona.

[3] Two months later, he combined with Stevenson to rout Scindia and Berar's demoralised and weakened army at Argaon , and shortly afterwards stormed Berar's fortress at Gawilghur . These victories, coupled with Lieutenant General Lake 's successful campaign in the north, induced the two Maratha chiefs to sue for peace. [4] File:Assaye (Elephant).jpg Wellesley later told Stevenson that "I should not like to see again such a loss as I sustained on the 23rd September, even if attended by such a gain", [5] and in later life he referred to Assaye as "the bloodiest for the numbers that I ever saw". [6] Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Munro , the Company's district collector at Mysore, was critical of the high proportion of casualties and questioned Wellesley's decision not to wait for Stevenson. He wrote to Wellesley: "I am tempted to think that you did it with a view of sharing the glory with the smallest numbers". [7] In response, Wellesley politely rebuffed Munro's accusations and defended his action as necessary because he had received and acted upon incorrect intelligence regarding the Maratha position.

[7] Assaye was 34-year-old Wellesley's first major success and despite his anguish over the heavy losses, it was a battle he always held in the highest estimation. After his retirement from active military service, the Duke of Wellington (as he later became known) considered Assaye the finest thing he ever did in the way of fighting even when compared to his later military career. [6] [8] Lord Mornington and his Council lauded the battle as a "most brilliant and important victory", [9] and presented each of the Madras units and British regiments involved in the engagement with a set of honorary colours. The British regiments and native units were also awarded the Assaye battle honour and most were later given permission to adopt an Assaye elephant as part of their insignia. A public monument was also erected by the East India Company at Fort William , Calcutta to commemorate the victory. [10] The 74th Regiment of foot later became known as the Assaye regiment due to their stand at the battle and their modern-day successors, the Royal Highland Fusiliers (2 SCOTS), still celebrate the anniversary of the battle each year.

[11] Of the native infantry battalions, only the Madras Sappers survive in their original form in the Indian Army but they no longer celebrate Assaye as it has been declared a repugnant battle honour by the Government of India. [12] In fiction Edit Cornwell, Bernard, Sharpe's Triumph : Richard Sharpe and the Battle of Assaye, September 1803, HarperCollins, 1998, ISBN 0-00-225630-4 . The book includes most of the important events of the battle, although mostly focusing on the British forces with Indian regiments generally in the background. Building on the real events Wellington loses a third horse and is tipped into the enemy ranks where he is saved by Sharpe, who in doing so earns his commission as an officer. The battle is mentioned numerous times throughout the series as a personal achievement for both Sharpe and Wellington (whose careers progress in parallel) and whenever characters from 78th or other highland infantry appear as Sharpe feels their actions at Assaye were a testament to their courage and discipline.

References battle of assaye - 必应 Sign in Battle of Assaye The Battle of Assaye was a major battle of the Second Anglo-Maratha War fought between the Maratha Empire and the British East India Company. It occurred on 23 September 1803 near Assaye in western India where an outnumbered Indian and British force under the command of Major General Arthur Wellesley (who later became the Duke of Wellington) defeated a combined Maratha army of Daulat Scindia and the Raja of Berar. The battle was the Duke of Wellington's first major victory and one he later described as his finest accomplishm ... (展开) ent on the battlefield. From August 1803, Wellesley's army and a separate force under the command of his subordinate Colonel James Stevenson had been pursuing the Maratha cavalry-based army which threatened to raid south into Hyderabad. After several weeks of pursuit and countermarching, Scindia reinforced the combined Maratha army with his modernized infantry and artillery as the British forces closed in on his position.

Wellesley received intelligence indicating the location of the Maratha encampment on 21 September and devised a plan whereby his two armies would converge on the Maratha position three days later. Wellesley's force, however, encountered the Maratha army – which was under the command of Colonel Anthony Pohlmann, a German formerly in British service – 6 miles (9.7 km) farther south than he anticipated. Although outnumbered, Wellesley resolved to attack at once, believing that the Maratha army would soon move off. Both sides suffered heavily in the ensuing battle; Maratha artillery caused large numbers of casualties among Wellesley's troops but the vast numbers of Maratha cavalry proved largely ineffective. A combination of bayonet and cavalry charges eventually forced the Maratha army to retreat with the loss of most of their guns, but Wellesley's army was too battered and exhausted to pursue. Wellesley's victory at Assaye, preceded by the capture of Ahmednagar and followed by victories at Argaon and Gawilghur, resulted in the defeat of Scindia and Berar's armies in the Deccan.

Wellesley's progress in the Deccan was matched by Lieutenant General Gerard Lake's successful campaigns in Northern India and led to the British becoming the dominant power in the heartlands of India. The Battle of Assaye was a major battle of the Second Anglo-Maratha War fought between the Maratha Empire and the British East India Company. Assaye is a small village in the Jalna district of the state of Maharashtra in western India. The village was the location of the Battle of Assaye in 1803, fought ... The East India Company's army led by Arthur Wellesley defeated the Mahrattas at the Battle of Assaye on September 23rd, 1803. The Battle of Assaye. Major General Arthur Wellesley’s (later the Duke of Wellington) important defeat of the Mahratta army, opening the way for the British ... The Battle of Assaye was a major battle of the Second Anglo-Maratha War fought between the Maratha Confederacy and the British East India Company.

It occurred on … military.wikia.com/wiki/Battle_of_Assaye Battle of Assaye - Second Mahratta War Second Mahratta War Major General Arthur Wellesley’s (later the Duke of Wellington) important defeat of the Mahratta army, opening the way for the British conquest of Central India War: Second Mahratta War Date: 23rd September 1803 Place: Central India Combatants: An army of British and Indian sepoy troops from the Madras Presidency against an army of the Mahratta Confederacy. General Arthur Wellesley leads the 1st Battalion of the 12th Madras Native Infantry at the Battle of Assaye on 23rd September 1803: picture by J.C. Stadler Generals: Colonel, acting Major General, Arthur Wellesley (later the Duke of Wellington) against Madhaji Scindia, one of the chief rulers of the Mahratta Confederacy.

Size of the armies: 6,500 British and Madras Presidency Indian troops and Mysore irregular cavalry with around 20 guns against a Mahratta army estimated to be at least 40,000 strong with more than 100 guns. Uniforms, arms and equipment: The standard firearm for the British and Madras infantry regiments was the Brown Bess musket and bayonet, muzzle loaded, with an effective range of only 100 yards, fired in volleys. The cavalry regiments carried a sword and muzzle loading carbine. The 74th and 78th Highland Regiments wore the kilt but on campaign in India exchanged it for thin linen trousers. Both regiments wore red jackets and feather bonnets. The Madras regiments wore red jackets and breeches. The 19th Light Dragoons wore blue jackets and the Tarleton light dragoon helmet. The Mahratta army comprised a wide variety of fighting men from disciplined European style infantry commanded by mercenary officers and armed with musket and bayonet to hordes of free-moving light horsemen armed with swords and shields. Both sides possessed artillery.

The Elephant Badge awarded to the regiments that fought at the Battle of Assaye, in this case to the 78th Highlanders Winner: The Anglo-Indian army of Colonel Wellesley. British Regiments: HM 74th (Highland) Regiment of Foot HM 78th (Highland) Regiment of Foot, the Ross-shire Buffs 4th Madras Native Cavalry 12th Madras Native Infantry (2nd Battalion) Artillery comprising eight 12 pounders, two 5 ½ inch howitzers and some other pieces. Account: In 1800 the East India Company, the British governing agency in India, occupied three areas of the sub-continent; the port of Bombay on the west coast of India; an area around Madras, stretching north and south of the city along the east coast; and the substantial presidency of Bengal, based on the trading port of Calcutta in the Hoogli delta; the three presidencies separated by tracts of country governed by Indian potentates.

In the Deccan, the southern central area of the Indian isthmus, the British controlled the principalities of Hyderabad (not to be confused with Hyderabad, capital of Scind on the border with Persia and now in modern Pakistan) and Mysore in the very south. Separating the three British presidencies, stretching from coast to coast and up to the borders of Nepal in the North and the Punjab in the West, lay the sprawling Mahratta Confederacy, combining the five principalities of the Peshwa Baji Rao, Daulat Rao Sindhia, Jeswant Rao Holkar, the Bhonslar Raja of Berar and the Gaikwar of Baroda. Sindhia included the old Moghul capital of Delhi in the North and a garrison of French trained troops. In 1802 war broke out within the Confederacy with Holkar and Berar defeating the Peshwa and Sindhia and driving the Peshwa from his territory to seek refuge with the East India Company.

The British Governor-General, the aggressive and resourceful Lord Mornington, seized on the pretext of re-instating the Peshwa in his capital, Poona, close to the British city of Bombay, to invade the Confederacy from Mysore in the South and from Oudh in the North. The incursion from Mysore was commanded by Lord Mornington’s younger brother, Colonel, acting Major General, Arthur Wellesley, later the Duke of Wellington. The Battle of Assaye Wellesley, after a notable part in the Mysore Wars, had for some time planned the inevitable incursion into the Mahratta Confederacy. His extensive intelligence network provided him with full descriptions of the countryside, towns and fortifications he would encounter. Based on this information Wellesley gave his brother a report setting out how the campaign would develop, advising that it be fought during the monsoon so that the flooding rivers would hinder the fast moving Mahratta light horse.

In the event, the Mahratta army of Sindhia and Berar - the force Wellesley had to deal with in this section of the war; General Lake fighting with Holkar’s army in the area of Delhi in the North - encumbered itself with a substantial force of infantry, severely restricting its mobility. In March 1803 Wellesley crossed into the Confederacy from Mysore and marched on Poona, where he restored the Peshwa to his principality. A second force under Colonel Stevenson crossed the border from Hyderabad and concerned itself with protecting Hyderabad from any incursion. Wellesley, with his British and Madras native regiments, pursued the Mahratta army to the North East, acting in concert with, but separate from, Stephenson’s force. On 23rd August 1803 Wellesley reached Naulniah, where information came in that the Mahratta army was just six miles distant and about to move off. Numbers of Mahratta horsemen forced Wellesley to conduct his reconnaissance of the Mahratta position with the whole of his cavalry brigade.

Wellesley came up with the Mahratta army and found that, far from withdrawing, the Mahrattas were in position behind the Kaitna, a steep-banked river presenting a formidable obstacle. They were clearly ready to do battle; 30,000 horsemen massed on the right with 12,000 infantry in 16 battalions trained and led by French officers, in lines interspersed with 100 guns, to the left. Without hesitation Wellesley resolved to attack. Wellesley’s force comprised 4 cavalry regiments; HM 19th Light Dragoons and 3 Madras native regiments; 7 infantry regiments; HM 74th and 78th regiments of Highlanders and 5 Madras native regiments; with a force of irregular cavalry from Mysore; 6,500 men and 22 guns in all. Wellesley moved with the cavalry brigade up the river, until he identified a point beyond the left flank of the Mahratta position where villages on each bank indicated a passable ford.

As the main body came up Wellesley directed his infantry across the ford to attack the Mahratta flank accompanied by four 12 pounder guns. Welleley’s infantry formed up in two lines on the far bank, with the British regiments on the outside flanks, the 74th opposite Assaye, the 10th Madras Native Infantry in the centre of the first line and the 4th and 12th Madras Native Infantry in the second. The 19th Light Dragoons and the 3 Madras cavalry regiments formed the reserve. The Mysore cavalry remained on the near bank of the Kaitna.Once Wellesley’s intentions were recognised the Mahratta commanders moved their army, establishing a new line across the isthmus formed by the Kaitna and Juah rivers, their left flank now resting on the village of Assaye.

The Mahratta guns subjected the Highlanders and Madrassis to a heavy fire as they marched to the river, crossed the ford and advanced to the attack, the fire being particularly heavy from Assaye against the 74th Highlanders, advancing behind a screen of skirmishers from the 2nd and 8th Madras Native Infantry (Wellesley later described the fire from the Mahratta guns as the heaviest that had been known in India). Wellesley in his dispatch after the battle stated that the 74th veered to the right in support of the skirmishers, opening up a gap between the 74th and 10th Madras Native Infantry. At some point in the advance the British/Madrassi line came up to an extended ridge, at which the advance paused before continuing the attack. In its advance on Assaye, the 74th came near to being annihilated, the Mahratta light cavalry swarming forward through the remnants of the regiment and the gap to its left.

The 19th Light Dragoons and 4th Madras Native Cavalry charged up from the rear, driving the Mahratta horse back through the British line and continued their attack into the main Mahratta position. On the British left, where the artillery fire was less heavy, the 78th Highlanders and Madras Native Infantry stormed the Mahratta line and pushed on, the French officers commanding the Mahratta battalions in the front line apparently abandoning their soldiers and riding for the rear, causing the collapse of a number of these battalions. The practice for Mahratta gunners, on being overrun, was to feign death under their guns, wait for the enemy to pass and resume fire, now into the rear of the attackers. This they did, catching the British and Madras regiments in the rear with a renewed bombardment. The 78th turned back and with the 7th Madras Native Cavalry retook the guns after a determined fight with the gunners. This time care was taken to ensure that those apparently dead were so.

The success of Wellesley’s attack, in spite of the heavy losses to the 74th, caused the Mahratta army to break up and retreat to the North East, pursued for a limited distance by the 19th Light Dragoons and the Madras cavalry regiments, and abandoning 98 guns on the battlefield. Stevenson’s Hyderabad force took up the pursuit. Casualties: Mahratta casualties are said to have been around 5,000. The Anglo-Indian force suffered 22 officers and 386 men killed and 57 officers and 1,526 men wounded. The 74th suffered around 400 casualties out of a strength of 500. It is said that every one of the 74th’s officers became casualties in the battle, 11 being killed. The commanding officer of the 19th Light Dragoons, Lieutenant Colonel Patrick Maxwell, who also commanded the cavalry brigade was killed. One third of Wellesley’s force became casualties in the battle.

Follow-up: Colonel Stevenson pursued the defeated Mahratta army, taking the fortress of Asirgarh, until peace was negotiated in mid-November 1803. The final phase of the Second Mahratta War broke out the same month, with the Mahrattas finally defeated in 1818 at the end of the Third Mahratta War, thereby assuring the British position in Central India. Wellesley’s older brother, Lord Mornington, the Governor General of Bengal, was ecstatic at the news of the victory. Assaye was seen as a decisive battle in the establishment of British influence and power in Central India and established Wellesley’s reputation in India. Regimental anecdotes and traditions: In later life the Duke of Wellington, when asked which was his hardest fought battle, said “Assaye”. Colonel Wellesley had two horses killed under him in the battle and his orderly, riding at this side, was decapitated by a cannon shot. Every officer on his staff lost one or two horses.

Wellesley is reported to have said before the Battle of Assaye “If I do not give battle to the enemy there will be nothing left for me but to hang myself from my tent pole.” Following the battle the 74th was known as, “the Assaye Regiment”. With almost all the 74th’s officers casualties, Quartermaster James Grant joined the ranks of the regiment from his post with the ammunition at the rear and assisted the one remaining, but wounded, officer, Major Swinton, in leading the regiment for the remainder of the battle. At the annual parade in commemoration of the battle, the Assaye colour was carried by the quartermaster, in memory of the actions of James Grant. The Governor General awarded special colours to the three British regiments; the 74th and 78th Highlanders and the 19th Light Dragoons, and to the Madras regiments. The 74th, the 2nd Battalion of the Highland Light Infantry from 1882, trooped its colour every year on the anniversary of Assaye. There is no record that the 78th made any such use of their colour.

Following the battle, each regiment that fought in the battle was awarded an elephant as its badge. References: Designed and maintained by Chalfont Web Design © Britishbattles.com 2002 - 2016;

Question: Who led the British forces at the Battle of Assaye in 1803 in the 2nd Anglo-Maratha War in India?
Answer: MAJOR GENERAL ARTHUR WELLESLEY